Reports in the tabloid media suggest that Asda has reverted to selling strawberries in “pounds”. So what has really happened? Continue reading “ASDA downsizes strawberries – brilliant publicity stunt”
Tag: weights and measures
Surprisingly balanced article in the Daily Mail
An interesting article about metrication appeared in the Daily Mail Online recently, describing the current situation reasonably well – but arguing that the current British mixture of metric and imperial measurements is actually a good thing since it enables people to use the units “most apposite for the job in hand”. As this argument is seductive but utterly misconceived, it deserves to be taken seriously and rebutted.
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Minister confirms business as usual
In response to letter from the British Weights and Measures Association (BWMA), the Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP, has confirmed that there is no change in Government policy on the units of measurement in use for trade.
How decimalisation succeeded while metrication stalled
The media like nothing better than an anniversary, so it was predictable that the 40th anniversary of “decimal day” – 15 February 1971, when the UK finally gave up its archaic and inconvenient coinage and currency – would get a good airing. Some commentators have even recalled that decimalisation was originally supposed to be complementary to metrication, with both operating to roughly the same timetable. So, it is interesting to compare the slick and successful operation to decimalise our currency with the incompetent bungling of metrication.
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Did “Victorian values” block metrication?
What is it about the British that makes it so difficult to implement a simple, obvious and necessary reform – the adoption of a single, rational system of measurement, used by everybody for all purposes? A newly published dissertation attempts some answers to this question.
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“Half of that mince, please”
Two brief anecdotes illustrate the difficulties still being experienced by customers because neither the Government nor “consumer advocates” will try to help them adapt to metric units in the supermarket.
Glaring omission from Queen’s Speech
The new coalition Government claims to be determined to clear up the “mess” left behind by the previous Government. So it is notable that Her Majesty’s gracious speech included no proposals to tackle one of the biggest “messes” of all – the intractable muddle of incompatible measurement units with which her UK (but not other Commonwealth) subjects have to struggle.
Could a future Government reverse metrication?
A recent correspondent expressed the wish “Let’s hope the new (Conservative) government puts a stop to metrication as far as is practically possible.” Naturally, we disagree with this sentiment – but, whoever wins the election, what could they actually do to turn the clock back? and, realistically, what would they do?
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Minister agrees it is time to clear up “very British mess”
In response to UKMA’s patron, Lord Howe, the junior Health Minister, Baroness Thornton said she “absolutely agreed” that it is “time for all of us, in all parties,…. to work together to clear up this long-standing and very British mess.” She added “This is a matter that will solve itself over time but it is our job in government to move as fast as we can towards people recognising and feeling comfortable using metric calculations.”
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Will the European Commission challenge US labelling rules?
A recent posting by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) has prompted this question: Are American labelling requirements now illegal under WTO rules?
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Metric Views 